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At first, the man looked like he might decline to answer, his brow furrowed. Then he responded, "Handsome fellow, usual Tatford green eyes, blonde hair."
Barnaby,Julia thought even as Chelsea exclaimed out loud, "Barnaby!"
"Thank you, sir," Chelsea said, tipping her head to the man, but even as she did, she whipped around, grabbed Julia's wrist, and began to drag her around the side of the Tatfords’ townhouse.
"Chelsea, what are you…" Julia exclaimed but she quickly cut herself off when she noticed a single set of footprints leading around the side of the house. It wasn't until they reached the back garden that they joined a second, smaller set.
The girls looked at each other and said at the very same moment, "What is he up to?"
Having seen the state of Jonathan and guessing his brother was no better, they could be sure that these footprints did not belong to either of them. No gardener would be out in thick snow such as this, and Julia was certain that it was far too cold for Lady Sutthers to bother spending any time in her rose garden. Yet that was exactly where the two sets of footprints were leading.
Julia wasn't sure whether it was suspicion or mere curiosity that made them both follow the footprints, but they were both extremely cautious, careful to step inside the prints so as not to make the snow crunch and give themselves away.
And it turned out to be a good thing that they did. Almost as soon as they entered the rose garden, Julia picked up on hushed voices. Ducking behind a bush, both girls peered through in the direction that they were coming from.
Right on the other side, they found Barnaby. And just as they had expected, he was not alone.
"I have missed you."
The feminine voice hit Julia's ears and made her cringe. Though it was obvious the woman was talking to Barnaby. On the rare occasions that she had talked or even danced with him at balls, he had been pompous, arrogant, and quite awkward. The man clearly loved himself very much, but she couldn't imagine anyone ever having any similar such feelings towards him.
Peering around him, Julia caught sight of the woman. A maid. She recognised her almost immediately as the plain-looking brunette who worked inside the townhouse as both Lady Sutther’s personal maid and the head maid of the entire household. In fact, Julia had seen her several times in the last few days, mainly providing food or medicine to Jonathan during their visits.
But why was she here with Barnaby, and why did she miss him? Julia quivered again to think, especially when Barnaby stepped forward and embraced the maid.
"And I you, Debbie, my sweet," Barnaby said in a voice that was altogether dripping with arrogance. "What news do you have for me?"
From what Julia could see of the maid's face, she smiled up at the man with an affectionate expression, all too happy to respond, "Our plan is working."
Julia's stomach clenched, but her reaction did not stop her from seeing the way the maid's face fell slightly as she added, “I fear it may be working a little too well. My lord and his brother are getting extremely sick.”
Julia had to throw her hand over her mouth in order to stop her gasp from erupting from her lips. A glance at Chelsea said she had done the same.
"Don't worry. The plan is working perfectly. We just need to continue a little longer," Barnaby assured her, and Julia's insides twisted even more violently at the happy tone in his voice. “Soon, all will be well, and you will get your reward.”
As if to illustrate his words, he leaned down and pressed his lips to her cheek.
“Hold off on continuing the plan until the morning,” Barnaby added then. "We wouldn't want anyone to get too suspicious."
At that, Debbie nodded, and the nobleman broke away from her. “I suppose I must return before I am missed.” She sighed as if she sensed what he wanted her to do without saying anything.
Julia got the distinct impression that she was watching a puppet with her puppet master, having her strings tugged on silently and with great malice. And it made her feel all kinds of wrong. Yet the maid looked happier than Julia had even seen Chelsea when she was with her Jonathan.
Julia flinched to see the way the maid leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed the nobleman, the way his body grew rigid as she did so, and how happy she was afterwards. Then she was gone, flitting out of the gardens in the opposite direction of the other two women.
Julia and Chelsea remained where they were, holding their breath as they waited to see what Barnaby would do next, not daring to move until they were certain he would not come back their way.
He remained where he was for several agonising minutes, kicking at the snow with the tip of his boot as though he was lost in thought. Then, finally, he started to move away, headed in the same direction as the maid, but at a much slower pace.
"Go after him!" Chelsea hissed once he was out of earshot. She pushed Julia slightly, almost knocking her off balance.
"What? Why?" Julia protested.
"We need more answers," Chelsea insisted.
"You go after him then!"
"Someone has to go after the maid," Chelsea pointed out, and Julia gritted her teeth.
